Reception and Creation of "Things Japanese"

这个项目的主要目的是了解日本在19世纪末是如何创造“日本东西”并被外国接受的。在这个项目中，我关注了明治时代的政府官员、后来成为日本画画家的高岛北海的活动。通过我在日本、法国和美国的考察，我证明了他公开展示了水彩画即兴绘画。我还收集了高岛在欧洲逗留期间收集的200多张名片，这些名片揭示了他在欧洲建立的友谊。这项研究界定了高岛作为现代日本画家的活动的意义。

The main purpose of this project is to see how "Things Japanese" were created in Japan and accepted in foreign countries at the end of the nineteenth century. In this project, I focused on the activity of Takashima Hokkai, a government official in Meiji era who became a Nihonga(Japanese painting) painter ; Takashima Hokkai. Through my investigations in Japan, France and US, I proved that he publicly demonstrated watercolour improvisational painting. I also compiled more than 200 visiting cards that Takashima collected during his stay in Europe which shed light on the European friendships he had formed. This study define the meaning of Takashima's activity as a modern Nihonga painter.